Where should I relocate a trapped opossum?

There are many people who have captured an opossum on their property or in their home, and then they want to figure out what to do next. They surely can’t just let the animal go. It will come right back, even if they take it blocks away. These animals have a very strong sense of smell, and they will come back if they can. Keep in mind they were coming to your property for a reason. If you remove them they still have that reason to return.

It is for ideas like this that many opt to take the possum to another location all together so that it cannot return. The question is where should you take a trapped opossum to relocate it? That is a good question.

Let’s start with the place you should begin. You may not need to make this an issue for your brain at all. You should first try the local animal control or wildlife preserve and see if they would take the animal off of your hands. They may be willing to send someone out or, at the very least, allow you to bring the animal to them. They will then care for the animal and provide a home for it. You now do not have to worry about what would be a suitable location.

This may not work, however. You may not have an agency that is willing to take the opossum for you, meaning you have to do it on your own. So where will you go?

If you want to do this right, then you simply cannot just go anywhere. While the opossum is a very adaptable animal, if the one you captured has been used to a suburban setting and you take it out to the forest, you might as well just kill it yourself. That is the chances it has for successfully surviving more than a day or two.

You will need to do some research. Go on line and look for places that seem like a natural habitat for an opossum. Look and see if there are reportings of bears or wolves around there. If not, then the animal has a good shot at making it. The fewer the numbers of predators, the better chance of survival it has. You may not think this is a big deal, but if you captured the thing in the first place, it is likely you want it to have a chance. Looking for the right ecosystem for it is the best place to start.